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Nationwide banks were among the largest lenders to “The Volunteer State” businesses through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program. Whether your business is a hotel, restaurant, auto repair, medical practice, veterinary or pharmacy, your mission is to exceed your customer expectations. So, if you’re ready to step up your business to the next level, here are the top SBA Lenders in Tennessee:
Top SBA lenders in Tennessee
| TN Rank | Tennessee Bank | Bank HQs | # of Loans | Avg Interest | Avg TN Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U.S. Bank | Cincinnati, OH | 86 | 7.0% | $77,853 |
| 2 | The Huntington National Bank | Columbus, OH | 27 | 7.0% | $307,644 |
| 3 | Pinnacle Bank | Nashville, TN | 26 | 6.4% | $1,058,965 |
| 4 | BayFirst National Bank | Saint Petersburg, FL | 21 | 8.5% | $192,048 |
| 5 | Wells Fargo | Sioux Falls, SD | 15 | 9.1% | $81,987 |
| 6 | BancorpSouth Bank | Tupelo, MS | 14 | 7.1% | $287,393 |
| 7 | First Horizon Bank | Memphis, TN | 14 | 6.5% | $1,041,464 |
| 8 | Newtek Small Business Finance | Lake Success, NY | 14 | 7.5% | $423,643 |
| 9 | Readycap Lending, LLC | Berkeley Heights, NJ | 13 | 8.3% | $587,254 |
| 10 | Live Oak | Wilmington, NC | 12 | 6.5% | $1,337,500 |
| 11 | United Midwest Savings Bank | De Graff, OH | 12 | 7.1% | $150,000 |
| 12 | Bank of America | Charlotte, NC | 11 | 4.9% | $332,945 |
| 13 | CapStar Bank | Nashville, TN | 11 | 6.6% | $930,427 |
| 14 | Regions Bank | Birmingham, AL | 11 | 6.1% | $888,482 |
| 15 | The First Bank and Trust | Lebanon, VA | 10 | 5.8% | $244,030 |
SBA loans – Tennessee
A note about these Tennessee SBA lenders – People frequently ask us if one of the banks above is 1) on the Tennessee preferred lender list 2) an approved lender in Tennessee, or 3) participating in the Tennessee SBA Express lending program. All these questions revolve around whether a given SBA bank makes small business SBA loans in Tennessee and can they process SBA loans quickly. The answer is yes, of course. These are not the small banks that only make a few SBA loans a year and do not understand the SBA 7(a) loan program. These are the banks that have made the most SBA loans in Tennessee and in Nashville.
We analyze thousands of SBA loans each year and rank lenders based on recent activity. We would be remiss if we did not mention that although many banks will only lend in certain geographies, there are a handful of extremely aggressive nationwide SBA lenders who will lend anywhere. These lenders understand the SBA program as well as anyone and move very quickly, so we recommend not limiting your search to your home state. If you utilize our lender match tool, we can find you suitable SBA banks based on your geography, industry, and company and size at no cost or obligation to you to save you valuable time.